Washington (CNN) – It's not likely to be found on any Washington-area menus soon. Congressional Black Caucus chair Emanuel Cleaver blasted the final debt deal brokered between congressional leadership and President Obama on Twitter as a "Satan sandwich" Monday.

"This deal is a sugar-coated Satan sandwich," he said. "If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see."

The four-term Missouri Democrat continued his Twitter diatribe against the deal to raise the amount of money the nation can borrow and make a down payment on the federal deficit saying, "This debt deal is antithetical to everything the great religions of the world teach, which is take care of the poor, aged, vulnerable."

A Satan sandwich is not a tasty deal, Cleaver affirmed during an interview on CNN's "The Situation Room." And it's worse when it's been sprinkled with Potomac River water.

The deal provides for a bi-partisan congressional committee tasked with making long-term fiscal reforms that may include spending cuts as well as tax revenues. If the committee does not come to an agreement by the end of the year, a congressional vote on adding a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution will take place. If the amendment is not passed, massive cuts to defense spending and entitlement programs will be made, hitting key programs for both Democrats and Republicans.

Cleaver was especially irked by this provision, tweeting, "A special 'super Congress' to provide recs on cuts but not increases? Who said what we need in Washington is another committee?"

He's so irked that leading up to the House vote Cleaver was undecided about which way he'd vote and unclear about the road forward in Congress.

"I think we've got to figure out how we continue to govern in an atmosphere like we have here where everybody is nasty to each other and there's no compromise," he said. "We're here in Washington having fact-free debates."

Frustrated with what he views as a lack of any Democratic wins in the deal, Cleaver continued, "Republicans got everything they wanted out of this deal. They got everything they wanted except for the Democratic donkey."

The Satan sandwich may be absent from menus for now, but the not-so-tasty treat lives–on Twitter. It is now today's version of the Bronx Zoo snake with its own Twitter handle, @SatanSandwich, and it's own tweets: "Remember. If you don't pass me, people get hurt. If you do pass me, people get hurt. Hey... #WinWin."

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soundoff(191 Responses)

MarkWisdom

Interesting comment Mr. Cleaver, if the House is the top piece of bread and the Senate is the bottom piece of bread, does that mean the POTUS (who brokered this deal) is the filling in this sandwich? Is the Black Caucus now refering to the POTUS as SATAN?

August 2, 2011 11:51 am at 11:51 am |

chris

This is all smoke and mirrors. No one actually cut anything. The so-called deal was a promise to make a fraction of cuts spread out over 10 years into the future while continuing to spend $1.6T more each year than we bring in, thus continuing to run up the debt driving us to eventual bankruptcy. The tea party/republicans did not win anything. Even with these so called cuts, the National Debt will continue to grow from $14.3T to $28T over the next 10 years. There is simply not enough money for 50% or more of our population to live off government entitlements. Let's support the truly needy, but 50% of our country is NOT in poverty. Even if you taxed rich people 100% and took everything they have, there is still not enough money to pay these bills. Besides, the more harsh the taxes, the more people hide their income and don't report it. Defense spending is only 17% of the budget. Entitlement spending is over 60%. Any true solution to our deficit MUST involve reform to entitlements. The tea party is not trying to destroy America, they are trying to save it.

August 2, 2011 11:51 am at 11:51 am |

Ramey

That s an apt description since it came from Reid and Obama. I don't know of a conservative who thinks it will do anything but add more to the deficit. Its keeps the Great Spender in the money until the election is over.

August 2, 2011 12:04 pm at 12:04 pm |

Bill

Obama blinked and the republicans got everything they wanted. We have a serious revenue problem when Warren Buffett's personal tax rate is less than his housekeeper's, and the Republicans think that is okay.

August 2, 2011 12:04 pm at 12:04 pm |

Bettie

I don't know where the president power is in all this, his hands are tied by the people who voted for the republicans, now he can't do nothing to pass bill by him self, and he has to include the republicans. And they demanded what they demanded breaking all the rules and their responsibilities because they don’t care like obama does. Now he is not a miracle worker the voter put them there...and the voters pay for it. Wake up people Nothing is going to happen to obama...if he is not elected he still rich and live his life but the voters who is voting based on hate instead of voting who helps them, and this country to be as it always been before bush , then they are going to have to suffer the consequence...and here you go this is just the beginning, blame it on obama but you have no body but to blame your self for not picking a side for the party who is fighting for you. Good luck people..

August 2, 2011 12:13 pm at 12:13 pm |

Ben

Ralph – It's Neville, not Richard, Chamberlain.

August 2, 2011 12:13 pm at 12:13 pm |

Southerner

This budget doesn't cut anything. The ONLY part of the budget that is binding is the one year budget. That budget "cuts" something like 7-20 BILLION from a budget of over $3.5 TRILLION. I put parentheses around "cuts" because they aren't even really that. The "baseline budgeting" method Washington uses ASSUMES a 7% increase each year. The proposed budget cuts a couple billion out of the INCREASE. SO congress is prepared to pass a budget that is nearly 7% MORE than last year, and wants us to believe that consitutes draconian cuts. It's pathetic really.

August 2, 2011 12:14 pm at 12:14 pm |

Ramey

Notice how the people that never make any money want the government to confiscate the wealth of those who do. Its fitting since Obama goes through this in every speech with his typical class warfare rhetoric – he's a real uniter.

August 2, 2011 12:18 pm at 12:18 pm |

Ted

The great religions of the world may teach us to take care of the poor, the sick and the elderly, but *nobody* made it government's job to redistribute wealth. Stop spending, let me keep my money and *I* will decide how to meet my moral obligations.

August 2, 2011 12:18 pm at 12:18 pm |

Mark from Louisiana

The bill cuts $7 Billion the first year, that's less than two days of spending for the democrats. What a waste of time. Time to vote out more democrats and republicans and not stop until we have people in Washington that will run the country like a business, not a charity for their voter base.

August 2, 2011 12:19 pm at 12:19 pm |

SCAtheist

Is anybody tired of the religious accusations? “You’re Satan”, “No you’re Satan”, “I prayed, and Jesus led me to vote against this bill.” Blah, blah, blah.

August 2, 2011 12:22 pm at 12:22 pm |

JRuss

Jesus didn't call for the government to take a dollar from you and give fifty cents to the poor, Jesus said we, not the goverment, are respondsible for our brother.

August 2, 2011 12:23 pm at 12:23 pm |

New Age Independant

Typical left wing radical rhetoric. Condemn Republicans when using inflammatory comments, yet praise liberals when they do the same. Simply pathetic.

August 2, 2011 12:24 pm at 12:24 pm |

Mike

What is he whining about? Entitlement cuts weren't included, although they sure should have been.

August 2, 2011 12:28 pm at 12:28 pm |

Meeks

Time to get more detailed on your tax return to make sure every deduction possible is taken. Those big quarterly checks to the Treasury and the utter wastefulness of Washington are making me feel taken not patriotic.

August 2, 2011 12:34 pm at 12:34 pm |

awasis

Jesus said render unto Cesar what is Cesar's, when asked about taxes.

August 2, 2011 12:34 pm at 12:34 pm |

SuperD

Cleaver is a dinosaur. His big Liberal gobmint programs that do nothing but line the pockets of beuracrats and Dems in particular are soon to be gone. We are going to reduce the size of the Fed gobmint.

The money's gone, the party is over, and his hand out constituents may actually have to go to work. To hell with all them I say. Don't listen to a word he's said, when you build a party by keeping people poor and ignorant, you reap what you sow.
I have no sympathy for anyone Cleaver claims he's helping.

August 2, 2011 12:38 pm at 12:38 pm |

Meeks

Largest debt hike in history and you can please the entitled. They want their money now and could care less that their grandchildren are going to get the tab for all the selfishness. Its all quite pathetic.

August 2, 2011 12:39 pm at 12:39 pm |

bemused

Aw, come on, why ya gotta pick on Satan? Leave the poor fella alone.

August 2, 2011 12:44 pm at 12:44 pm |

cptkoz

RIP OFF! He must have been watching Smokey and the Bandit recently. ITS A DIABLO SANDWICH, WITH A DR. PEPPER TO GO!!!!!

August 2, 2011 12:48 pm at 12:48 pm |

Wolf

"with its own Twitter handle ... and it's own tweets"

Well, we shouldn't cut our education budget because it's already behind. Apparently CNN reporters are no longer taught the proper (and IMPROPER) use of the apostrophe.

August 2, 2011 12:52 pm at 12:52 pm |

Joe A

I wouldn't call this sugar-coated...

August 2, 2011 12:54 pm at 12:54 pm |

poiuytre

When did Richard Pryor run for office?

August 2, 2011 12:59 pm at 12:59 pm |

Mike

"This debt deal is antithetical to everything the great religions of the world teach, which is take care of the poor, aged, vulnerable."

So where was the part where they said, the rulers must seize money from one to give to another? While many religions do encourage charity, taxation and redistribution of wealth is not charity.

Remember, Robin Hood did not actually take from the rich and give to the poor. He took from a corrupt government that burdened its people with oppressive taxation and gave back to the people.

August 2, 2011 01:02 pm at 1:02 pm |

Kevin

I'm really sorry America for the ignorance of my congressman Emanual Cleaver. I tried to vote the son of a...out...but the ghetto central Kansas City ruined it for us during the election.